Warner Bros shareholders approve $110bn merger with Paramount

23rd Apr 2026 18:56

(Sharecast News) - Warner Bros Discovery shareholders have approved the company's proposed $110bn merger with Paramount Skydance.

In a preliminary vote on Thursday, shareholders voted "overwhelmingly" to approve the deal.

Warner Bros chair Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr, said: "We appreciate the support and confidence our stockholders have placed in us to unlock the full value of our world-class entertainment portfolio.

"With Paramount, we look forward to creating an exceptional combined company that will expand consumer choice and benefit the global creative talent community."

The company's president and chief executive, David Zaslav, said shareholder approval was "another key milestone toward completing this historic transaction that will deliver exceptional value to our stockholders".

"We will continue to work with Paramount to complete the remaining steps in this process that will create a leading, next-generation media and entertainment company."

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory clearances.

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: "If this was a good old-fashioned feature film, we'd be into the final act of the tale that has been the battle to take over the entertainment giant Warner Bros. But shareholders' decision to back Paramount's bid for the company is probably just another instalment in a long running saga which has had as many twists and turns as you would expect from the business of entertainment.

"Regulators might yet put a spanner in what has been a Herculean effort by Paramount to snaffle up the home of Harry Potter.

"That shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve the deal is not a surprise, as the final offer of $31 a share is a premium to where the company is currently trading. Former suitor Netflix walked away from a lengthy and bruising bidding war and the alternative is for Warner Bros to continue to go it alone in a sector that's facing huge challenges.

"Even if this deal does get across the finish line later this year, the newly minted company still faces a long and winding road ahead. There are significant areas of crossover between the two entertainment powerhouses but there will be changes and challenges, not least from some of Hollywood's elite who fear what the deal could do to the industry."